Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on Saturday alleged that police did not cooperate with them to file a case over the death of the BUET student Muhtasim Masud.
Muhtasim Masud, 22, a second-year student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department at BUET, died and two more students of the university were seriously injured when a car rammed into a motorcycle at a police checkpoint in the Neela Market area (Kuril-Kanchan Road) on Purbachal 300 feet road in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj around 3:00 am early on Friday.
Following the incident, fellow students staged demonstrations at the BUET’s Central Shaheed Minar for the second day, pressing a five-point demand. At the event, three students read out a written statement where they accused the police of non-cooperation with them over registering the case.
Protesting students said they would submit memorandum to the home adviser to ensure a fair investigation into the incident and the maximum punishments to the perpetrators.
They further alleged the defence lawyer were making confusing remarks, as well as the ‘murder’ was being labelled as an accident in the media.
Three students of the 21st batch from the CSE department read out the statement giving a detail account of Friday’s incidents.
The statement said when they arrived at the spot they saw witnesses and pedestrians keeping the driver and the passengers of car involved in the crash confined.
Citing the witnesses, the students said the police on duty intercepted the motorcycle carrying Masud, Amit and Mehdi at the Neela Market intersection to confirm the identity of the trio.
At that time, a speedy car hit the trio and the parked motorcycle from behind. Mubim Al Mamun was driving the car while Mirazul Karim and Asif Chowdhury were also in the vehicle.
Driver Mubim Al Mamun is the son of Brigadier General (retired) Abdullah Al Mamun. When students arrived at the spot they also saw the father of the driver there. Later, they also found alcohols and narcotic substances in the car.
Allegations of reluctance in registering lawsuit
Protesting students alleged that police arrived at the spot moments after the incident. Police took three people including the car driver to the Rupganj Health Complex for primary treatment and then to the Rupganj police station. Students also went along.
Hearing the details of the incident, the on-duty sub-inspector expressed reluctance to register a case, as well as showed uncooperative behaviours towards the students.
The next day, a group of students, several teachers, chief security officer and chief security guards of the BUET went to the police station at 8:00 am. At that time, the officer-in-charge (OC) was not at the police station and when they tried to contact to the OC the police official delayed his arrival. The OC arrived at the police station an hour later and then talked to the teachers.
The BUET students also alleged Brigadier General (retired) Abdullah Al Mamun and the family of the car driver tried to influence the events in various ways. The mother of the accused also offered various compensations to the students.
Five-point demand
The protesting students placed a five-point demand. These include (1) ensuring the maximum punishments over this killing at any cost; (2) the defense must bear all treatment costs of the inured; (3) the defense must provide adequate compensations to the family of the deceased; (4) anyone trying to prevent the investigation process must face legal actions, and (5) ensuring proper role of the authorities concerned to prevent further loss of lives in road accidents, as well as to ensure road safety.
A student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) was killed when a car rammed into a motorcycle at a police checkpoint in Purbachal Uposhohor area in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj.
Meanwhile, two more students of the university were seriously injured. The incident took place in Neela Market area (Kuril-Kanchan Road) on Purbachal 300 feet road around 3:00 am early on Friday.
Deceased Muhtasim Masud, 22, was a second-year student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department at BUET. He was the son of Masud Mia, a resident of Green Road under Kalabagan Police Station in the capital.
The injured two, Mehedi Hasan Khan, 22, and Amit Saha, 22, were also students of the CSE department at BUET. Mehedi is the son of Mafizur Rahman Khan from Cumilla Sadar upazila and Amit is the son of Tapan Kumar Saha from Muktagacha municipality in Mymensingh. Mehedi is undergoing treatment at Square Hospital while Amit is being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the capital.
As the plaintiff, Muhtasim’s father has filed a case under Road Transport Act with Roopganj police station in connection to this incident. The police have arrested three people involved in this incident.
The three arrested include Mubin Al Mamun, 20, who was driving the car. Mubin is the son of Brigadier General (Retd) Abdullah Al Mamun, resident of Mirpur DOHS area in the capital.
The other two arrested who were also in the car are Mirazul Karim, 22, son of Rizwanul Karim from Pirerbag area in Mirpur and Asif Chowdhury, son of Bahauddin Chowdhury from Uttara sector No. 13.
All three are students. Dope test found traces of alcohol and cannabis in the blood of two of the accused -- Mubin Al Mamun, 20, who was driving the car, and Mirazul Karim, 20, one of the riders. However, the other rider – Asif Chowdhury- tested negative in the dope test.